


Stone Cold Livin'

by Dizzy_Star_77



Category: Frank Iero and the Future Violents (Band), My Chemical Romance
Genre: Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Possible Character Death, Romance, Sadboiihours, Teacher-Student Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2020-06-02 22:04:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19450399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dizzy_Star_77/pseuds/Dizzy_Star_77
Summary: Y/n is the Teacher's Assistant for the most attractive Professor at her University, Frank Iero.





	1. Syllabus

I'd never been so eager to wake up on time as I was that day. It was the day I was starting my T.A. position for professor Iero at my university. He was absolutely my favorite teacher, not to mention extremely attractive. Hopefully this year would be fun.

I tried to dress well, with a light colored blouse and a black skirt. I made sure to look bright and fresh, to represent my friendly demeanor. Soon, I was ready to go and practically bounced out of my dorm room, yelling a quick goodbye to my roommate, Tara. 

On my way there, it occurred to me that Iero's class was my last class of the day. I was a little disappointed at this realization, but quickly recovered myself. I only had four classes, and the first three were before lunch anyway. Plus, save the best for last right? 

I breezed through my first three classes, gathering syllabi and calendars and a small homework assignment. Unfortunately, I was anxious for Iero's class, and kept zoning off from sheer excitement. I bounced back home for a few hours before my last class of the day.

I decided to show up a little bit early, and flounced back to school and straight to Professor Iero's office. Taking a deep breath, I knocked politely on the door and waited patiently for an answer. I heard angry grumbling from the other side of the door. 

"I'm on my lunch break, if this is something stupid I swear I'm quitti-" Iero paused in shock when he saw me, a look of disbelief on his face. However, the look flashed into a smile soon after, and he pulled me into a tight hug. "Y/n! How's my favorite student?"

He invited me into his office and closed the door behind us. "Well, I'm about to be your favorite T.A., I guess." I sat down in a chair and grinned.

"Oh shit! I forgot about that!" He put on a pout and widened his eyes. "And here I thought you were just coming to visit little ol' me."

"Why do you think I showed up so early? I ain't got nothing to do back at the dorm," I paused and stole a tomato from his salad that was he was eating. "Just homework. And you, my dear professor should know I would never get my homework done early."

"Hey!" He glared playfully. "Get your own tomatoes!" He ended up giving me the rest anyway. "By the way Y/n, when it's just you and me, you can call me Frank." He smiled sweetly at me.

I blushed a little. "Okay, Frank, what do you need me to do today."

Frank looked pleased with me calling him by his first name, and stood up, beckoning me to follow. We walked out of the office and into the classroom, then to some file cabinets by his desk.

"Basically, I just need the files alphabetized. I never actually got around to it." He gestured to a stack of crates, each stuffed with file folders. "Then I'll probably just have you hand some stuff out during class. Today's easy enough, so no worries."

Frank sat down at his desk and turned on his computer, queuing up his slide presentation. After a few minutes of us silently working, I broke the silence. "Its so weird to be back here. Like, not as a student. I used to sit at that desk every day last year." I pointed to the last desk in the front row. 

"Oh yeah, I remember. You were so adorable." Frank sighed. "You would come up after class and ask about the homework in that little squeaky voice." 

I laughed. "Jeez, what a time." 

The two of us chatted about the past until his students came trickling in. By that time, I was finished organizing and the two of us were leaning against his desk, having some sort of banter. Eventually, it was time for class to start and I sat at the smaller desk that was near Frank's but more in the corner. I started my homework on my laptop while I waited for more direction from him.

"Good afternoon, class, I am Professor Frank Iero. You can call me Professor Iero, or simply professor. If I like you enough, maybe even 'Iero', but if any one of you idiots has the audacity to call me Frank you might leave here in a stretcher." His students responded at his comedic threat with laughter, and he turned to me and smiled. "This is my T.A., Y/n." I waved a little at the class and smiled softly. "If anyone is rude to her, the previous consequence applies." More laughter.

"Y/n, if you could pass out the syllabus and calendar, that would be wonderful." He set the stack of paper on my desk.

I quickly stood up and set a brisk pace as I went down each row, setting a packet on each occupied desk. I felt some eyes on me, unsurprisingly they were guys who had no ability to be discreet about their leering. As I was passing things out, Frank started going over the rules and regulations of his class. 

While he was speaking about upcoming projects, Frank paused for a moment. "And to the young sir in the red sweatshirt..." The entire class directed their attention to a guy who was seated behind where I was standing. "Unless there was some terrible, horrible, horrendous mistake at the printer, the syllabus is not printed on Y/n's backside. So please direct your attention back to the paper." 

The entire class roared with laughter, except for the boy, who shrunk back into his seat and ashamedly stared at the paper. I laughed and walked back to my desk, taking a seat to work once more. 

I worked until the class was over, and it took me a while to notice someone looming over my desk. Looking up, I saw the same guy in the red sweatshirt. His face was red too, getting comedically close to the shade on his clothing. "Come back to see more?" I asked sarcastically.

"N-no." He stammered. The boy glances nervously over at Frank, who was watching him intensely. "I-I just wanted to apologize for my be-behavior."

"Oh." I said. "I accept your apology. Thank you." 

The guy just nodded awkwardly. "My name's Casey, by the way." 

"Y/n." I stuck out my hand. " 'Course you probably know that." 

Casey shook my hand quickly and smiled before saying a rushed goodbye and sped out of the room, not before frantically glancing at Frank once more, fearful of what Frank could do.

When the door slammed, Frank and I were alone again. 

"Thanks for saving me during class." I walked to his desk and leaned against it.

"No problem." Frank laughed. "Sometimes all they need is to get called out once or twice before they stop."

"Yeah. Well at least that one had the respect to apologize." I chuffed. "He seems like he's probably a good kid."

"Most of em' are, you know." He looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "By the way, don't you have a boyfriend or someone to get to? I thought you were dating one on the boys on the basketball team." 

"Oh...no." I looked down and digby shoe into the carpet a little. "We broke up a few weeks ago."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Frank frowned sympathetically up at me. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Well it's nothing terrible." I shifted so I was sat more comfortably on his desk. "He just wantd more than I was willing to give, if you catch my drift."

"Oh no, I understand." He rolled his eyes. "I understand completely."

I glanced at the clock. "Well, I think its time for me to be getting back. I'll see you later professor."

I grabbed my backpack, but Frank caught my arm as I was walking past. "It's Frank, remember?" 

"Right..." I laughed. "I'll see you later Frank."

We shared a smile before I walked out of the classroom.


	2. Frankie

The next few weeks were relatively easy. I would go to my regular classes, go home for lunch, then come back to talk to Frank a little bit before his last class started. 

It was fun; we would talk about everything. Assignments, students, our lives. However, there were a few times I caught him getting borderline flirty with me; callimg me "beautiful" and "talented." Now, don't get me wrong here. I thoroughly enjoyed the compliments, and would often flirt back a little. The attention I was getting I found extremely flattering.

On one Friday, I arrived at his office at my usual time and rapped on the wooden door. There was no response, so I knocked again. I checked around for some absence note, but found nothing. Still, I knocked one last time. Nothing.

That's weird. Oh well, guess he's just busy somewhere else. I'll just wait here until class starts, I guess.

So I sank down and took a seat against the wall, choosing to take some notes while I waited. A few minutes in, I heard the creaking of a door and looked up to see Frank peeking out from behind it. His hair was disheveled and tie was undone, along with his shirt being crooked. His eyes were squinty too, like he had just been sleeping.

He noticed me. "Oh shit Y/n! Have you been here this whole time?" 

I stood up and gathered my things. "No, just a few minutes is all. I thought you were gone or something."

"Oh. That's good I guess." He opened the door wider. "Do you wanna come in?"

"Yeah, that'd be cool." I walked in. "Were you asleep? You look like you just woke up." I inquired.

"Hmm? Oh yeah..." Frank caught a glance at himself in the window and laughed. "I for some reason, couldn't sleep last night. I've just been napping in between classes today." He pointed to a pillow and blanket on the floor. 

I stepped over his makeshift bed and took a few steps toward his desk. "Have you eaten yet? It'll make you feel better."

"No, not yet." Frank rubbed his eye and sat down slowly in his chair. "I'm not really that hungry, though." 

"Well," I bent over and opened up his mini fridge. "I think you should eat a little anyway, then you'll have more energy." I pulled out his usual salad container and handed it to him, along with the fork that was sitting on top of the fridge.

"Ugh, fine." He reluctantly grasped the container and popped the lid off. "Just 'cause it's you."

"Aww, for meeeee?" I teased, batting my eyelashes. "How sweet."

"Don't flatter yourself, princess." He laughed, shaking his head.

"Okay..." I smirked. "Frankie."

"Woah!" Frank looked up from his food at me. "Who gave you permission to use that?"

"Me." I crossed my arms and grinned cheekily. "Watcha gonna do about it?"

"Nothing yet." He smirked.

"Okay then." I sat down in a chair and blushed.

We talked until Frank realized he had five minutes left until class. He quickly got up and started rushing around, collecting papers he needed. When he was done, he nearly ran out of the room before I stopped him. 

"Hey, you can't go out there looking like that." I fixed his hair and straightened his tie while he tucked his shirt back in.

Once he looked decent again, he rushed out of his office to go unlock the classroom door, with me following closely behind.

Class went as usual that day, he taught and I sat on the floor by his desk and graded tests. Occasionally, my hand would cramp up and I would have to take a break for a minute, usually just by watching Frank teach. 

I enjoyed it quite a lot. Seeing his tattooed hands move around the board in explanation. When Frank finally let the class work on their new assignment, he gave me a small smile before sitting down to work more. I returned his gesture and returned to my own work. 

After the class was dismissed, I stayed a few minutes to help Frank organize. I tapped a stack of graded papers against the desk surface and set them down.

"Y/n?" Frank asked suddenly.

"Yes Frank?" I looked up curiously 

"Do you enjoy being my T.A.?" He was fiddling with his tie a little bit.

"Yes! Of course I do!" I smiled gently. "I couldn't think of a better teacher to assist." I grabbed my purse and slung it over my shoulder.

"Wait, really?" He looked surprised. Pleased, but surprised. 

"Of course..." I walked up to him and fixed his tie once more. "Frankie."

"You know..." Frank started, eyeing me. "If you keep that up, you might just lose the special privilege of calling me Frank." He smirked.

"Oh no!" I gasped dramatically. "Then what will I call you?" I started heading to the door, making sure to sway my hips just a little on my way there. "I think... Professor Iero would be perfect." I winked at him and quietly slipped out the front door.

Jesus Christ, Y/n! What the hell was that? You just straight up, unashamedly flirted with a teacher! Oh God, what am I doing? How does Frank feel about this? How do I feel about this? 

I mentally argued with myself until I got to my dorm, when my thoughts were cut short by the ringing of my phone. I checked the caller I.D. Dad. I quickly hit answer and put the phone to my ear.

"Hey Dad, what's up?"

"Hey sweetie, are you at your dorm?" His voice was sniffly and raspy.

"Yeah... Dad, is there something going on?" My worries were already starting to build in my head.

"Sweetie I don't know what to say..."

"Daddy just say it!" My worries were making me agitated.

"Your brother Dakota got into a car accident tonight." He spat out. Not Dakota. He was the most responsible kid I knew. What the hell could have happened?

"Well, what happened to him? Is he going to be okay?" 

"We don't know yet. He's in surgery right now, but the doctors say it's a real touch-and-go situation." My dad paused. "Sweetpea, he might not make it." 

"Oh." I could already feel the tears. 

"Sweetie, I know that you're in school, but if you could come see him for a even a day, it would mean so much to him. He loves you so much."

"Yes..." I was choked up. "I-I know. I have a little extra for emergencies and I can probably fly out tomorrow." 

"Okay, thank you Y/n. I'm going to let you go now, your mother says she loves you."

"Tell mom I love her too. Hugs and kisses for everyone!" I tried to sound less devastated than I actually was.

"Alright, love you Y/n."

"Love you Dad."


	3. Plane Tickets

Silently I sank down on my bed. There was a weight in my ribcage pressing on my lungs. It felt like it was squeezing the air out of me. When I tried to take a breath, my eyes watered with the beginnings of tears. I let them fall, sitting in shock at the news my father had bestowed upon me. 

How could this happen to my Dakota? He's only seventeen, this isn't fair to him. He wouldn't drive while drunk or high, he knows better than that.

A few minutes later, I had stopped crying and was now ready for my next task. Buying plane tickets.

I slowly pushed myself off of the mattress and took small, stumbling steps to my backpack, reaching in to pull out my laptop. With shaky hands I started it up and logged in, my brain not letting my hands go as fast as I wanted them too. My fingers felt weak, like they weighed 10 pounds each. Each press of a key made an audible slam into the board.

When I had finally pulled up the options for flights back to my homestate, I scoured for the cheapest prices. Eventually I found one that only cost a few hundred for round trip tickets and booked immediately. I grimaced when I had finished. This purchase was gonna wipe out nearly my entire bank account. Oh well, it's worth it if it's for Dakota.

The flight was scheduled for 4:30 in the morning, and I would need to get to the airport at least an hour early. But the city transit didn't run that early, and none of my friends had cars. I couldn't walk. More like won't walk. The night is fuckin' scary, man.

I had one option left. The option I really didn't want to have to utilize. Frank. He had given me his personal number a couple weeks prior and told me that if I was in emergency that I was free to call him. Hope this is emergency enough. 

I reached for my cellphone and searched through my contacts until I found Frank's. My finger hovered over the call button for a moment. Eventually I just said 'fuck it' and pressed the button, waiting nervously for him to pick up. After about ten seconds, I heard a crackle and a familiar, albeit slightly warped voice.

"Hello?" The voice was tired.

"Hey, this is Y/n. Is this Frank?" 

"Oh, hey Y/n. Yeah it's Frank. What's going on."

I had a small moment of relief knowing I didn't have a wrong number. That moment was over quickly when I had to ask for my favor.

"Alright, I need a huge favor. I need someone to take me to the airport really early in the morning tomorrow." I heard Frank groan really loudly on the other end.

"Fiiiiiiine. I'll at least attempt to sleep tonight then."

"Thank you so much! Can you pick me up at like three AM please? At the dorms?"

"Yeah, I can." He sighed heavily. "Ya know, you're lucky I like you so much." I could practically hear his smirk from the other end of the line.

"Awwww, that's nice." I was blushing a little, grateful he couldn't see. "Anyway, I have to go. I need to pack." 

"Alright, I'll let you go then. Bye Y/n."

"Bye Frank." I hung up the phone and held it in my hands for a moment. What did he mean that he liked me? He just meant as a student. Right? Right. Nothing more, that would be inappropriate. 

I shook the intrusive thoughts from my mind and started packing. I would only be there for the weekend, so I packed lightly. Just some sweatshirts and underwear were shoved hastily into my school backpack, whose contents had been dumped onto my dorm floor. 

\---***---

I somehow managed to get a few hours of sleep that night. Just a few though, before I was yanked away by the piercing screams of my alarm clock. I quickly dressed in comfortable clothes and brushed my hair, making sure to look a little decent. Not that it mattered, nobody would judge me for looming like crap if I was at an airport at three in the morning. I think I was just trying to distact myself from worrying about Dakota. 

I picked through my school things that were still strewn onto the floor and found a notepad and pen, which I used to scribble an explanatory note to my roommate about where I was. After, I found my laptop and slid it, along with its and my phone's chargers into my backpack.

My head whipped around to my phone buzzing from the desk.

From Frank: I'm out front.  
Are you ready?

From Me: yeah, I'll be down in a minute

From Frank: rad

Frank's car was easy to find on account of it being the only source of light in the parking lot. He was inside, messing with his phone when I knocked on the window. I was grateful when he unlocked the door; the air conditioned vehicle was much warmer than the autumn night. 

"Morning." He said staunchly as I buckled myself in. 

"Morning yourself."

"The things I do for you L/n. The things I do." Frank shook his head and laughed, but his laughter was ridden with an overture of lost sleep. 

We arrived at the airport, and Frank walked me inside. I wasn't very used to flying alone, so he stayed with me while I got my tickets and weighed my luggage and stuff.

"Hey Y/n, since you're gonna be here a while, do you wanna get some food or something?" Frank rubbed his eyes and looked around. 

"Yeah, that would be cool." I started walking with him towards one of the airport restaurants. "Wait, don't you want to go back home?"

"Nah, I'm too awake now. Won't be able to go back to sleep." He smiled at me. "Besides, you seem kinda nervous, so it might help for you to have someone to hang with."

"Oh...yeah, actually. That's really nice of you."

"No problem sweetheart." I blushed at his comment. Sweetheart? He doesn't mean that, does he? No no, he's just tired, that's all. Just tired.

The place we chose was a very small, diner-style restaurant. It was empty, except for the employees. We took a seat in the corner and the waitress came to take our orders. She left and Frank broke the silence. "So.... what's so pressing that you had to have me drive you to the airport at this ungodly hour?"

I perked up a little, but stayed silent for a moment before answering his question. "Well... it's about my brother." I stopped to look up before continuing; Frank didn't meet my eyes, instead he was staring at the table with his hands folded, resting on his lips. He was paying attention. "My little brother Dakota got into a car crash yesterday, and he's in critical condition. We don't know if he's gonna pull through or not, so I have to go back home to see him just...just in case." My voice was wavering as I fought to retain the tears begging to fall. 

Frank reached across the table and grabbed my hand. Gently, he rubbed his thumb over my hand, searching for words. "Y/n... I'm so sorry." He finally looked me in the eyes. "I can't tell you what's going to happen to your brother, but I can tell you this: you, you're going to be okay. I'm not gonna let you not be okay. I'll do whatever I fuckin' have to. I don't know your brother, but I do know that he's pretty damn lucky to have you as his sister."

Despite my best efforts, tears began rolling down my cheeks. I gave him a smile and he squeezed my hand. 

Forty-five minutes later he was about to leave me at the baggage check. He pulled my arm before I entered, turning me around to face him. "Y/n, before I leave you... I need you to remember that life goes on okay? No matter what happens while you're gone, your life will go on." His eyes were frantically searching mine, trying to secure his words in my brain. 

I nodded rapidly. "I understand." He continued scanning my face, his eyes lingering on my lips for a moment longer than the rest. He pulled me in tightly to his chest and squeezed me. 

"Goodbye Y/n."


	4. Chapter 4

" 'Cause you only need the light when it's burning low  
Only miss the sun when it starts to snow  
Only know you love her when you let her go  
Only know you've been high when you're feeling low  
Only hate the road when you're missing home  
Only know you love her when you let her go."

"Mom, I'm at the hospital now."

The building was exactly as you would expect a hospital to be. Sterile walls and sterile floors, containing sterile rooms, closed by doors with sterile handles. No sign of life could be detected, save for the gentle clicking of computer keys by the receptionist and the distant roll of wheels down a hallway I was probably forbidden from. 

"That's great sweetie, we're in room 1077." My mother practically spoke with bags under her eyes.

"Okay, I'll be up in a few minutes. Love you."

"Love you." Knowing my mother, she probably hadn't slept at all last night. She was dedicated to her children in any way she could be. I remembered her driving me home in the middle of the night after I had a lot too much to drink at a party. There was no chastising, just the comforting sound of NPR as we rolled down the highway. 

I nearly walked past the right hospital room in my daze. Gently, I knocked on the door, and heard a soft 'come in' from an indistinguishable voice. The voice was tired, but that was no identifier right now. 

My parents sat next to each other by Dakota's bed. They looked up at the same time, and for a moment I couldn't tell them apart. The same look of fear and despair had sewn lines into their skin, inked under their eyes, and stripped the color from their hair. Mom hugged me first, then Dad. He ruffled my hair and she kissed my cheek. 

Dakota looked rough. His skin was yellowish and pasty; lost were the rose cheeks I had grown accustomed to. One blood-soaked bandage was taped to his forehead. If it weren't for the steady beeping of the heart monitor, I would have thought it was a dead body laying on the table.

"He hasn't woken up yet." My mom said suddenly. 

"Hmm?" I looked over to her.

"He hasn't woken up yet." She repeated. "The doctor said he wouldn't for a few more hours."

"Oh. Well I'll be here when he does."

And I was there when he woke up. His eyes opened slowly, then shut quickly, his body wincing from the sudden light. His head turned slightly to me, but when he opened his eyes that time, they opened wider. "Y/n?" Dakota questioned hoarsely. "You came..."

"That's what he said." I wiggled my eyebrows and laughed.

He exhaled heavily and rolled his eyes. "Idiot." He laughed.

"Love you anyway, stupid." I folded my arms. "So, what'd you do to end up like this, Koty?"

"Drunk driver. On my way home from practice." He took a long pause. "God, this hurts like a bitch."

"Dakota!" My mother scolded. 

"Oh lay off him Jenny!" My dad chuffed. "The kid can swear as much as he wants to, as long as he doesn't die!"

Dakota fell back asleep soon after that. The fact that he woke up was good news, but it was no guarantee of recovery. So together we sat, Mom and Dad on one side of the bed, and me on the other. We were silent. 

The hospital was very large. I spent a long time walking the halls I was permitted to be in over and over and over again. When that stopped working, I walked straight out of the hospital and searched for a familiar place. There's a park near here. One with swings and a pond. That'll be nice. So off I went.

The Grant Memorial Park held many memories for me. I had my first kiss on the docks of the pond when I was fifteen. Daniel Cochran was such a damn tool. Right after he kissed me he tried to get me to give him a blowjob because: "It's the middle of the night, nobodies going to see!" And, "you wouldn't just blueball me would you?"

That's exactly what I did. I pushed him into the pond and watched for a minute while he splashed around and started screaming at me. I just laughed a little to myself and walked away, hands in my pockets while he was shouting profanities at me, scrambling onto the docks sopping wet. What a time I had at school the next day telling everyone how "wet" he got with me. 

Now, the docks seemed much less alive. Looking around only showed me ghosts of familiar people acting out my memories.

A thirteen year old girl in a Green Day t-shirt was angrily scribing in a black notebook, her eyeliner running a bit from tears. A second later, the girl was a little older, sat in the same place, long sleeves pulled down as far as she could get them, trying to protect herself from the crisp wind. Then she was standing on that dock with Daniel, confused as to why he was undoing his belt, then chucking his ass into the filthy water. 

Finally, she was eighteen. Her hair was unbrushed, whipping wildly in the wind. Music blasted from her earbuds, serving their purpose of deterring anyone from coming near her. She twisted the class ring she had payed too much money for on her finger before removing it. She kissed it gently, walking to the edge. She drew her arm back to Venezuela and let loose, flinging the ring to the center of the pond, only watching the ripples for a second before turning in her heel and walking home. 

This was no place for me anymore. There was no comfort in the docks and the pond and the trees and the squirrels and the swing set. I left the Grant Memorial Park for the last time that day. I had no use for the destination. I only wanted the journey.

When I walked through the door to Dakota's hotel room, I was surprised to find the doctor standing inside as well. Dad was holding Mom tightly and they looked like they were braced for the worst news. I just waited behind a curtain so they wouldn't see me. The doctor spoke. 

"So, the treatment has so far been successful, and the bloodwork came back negative for serious disease..."

"And this means..." Dad was barely choking out words.

"It will be a long recovery, but Dakota will be healthy and well."

Mom burst into tears and my dad sighed heavily. They both shook the doctor's hand and thanked him profusely before he left the room.

The looks in my parents face as they recounted the news I'd already heard to me. I pretended like I hadn't heard anything, but still had the same relief to know that his recovery was a real future and not a hallucination. 

The plane ride back was far less stressful. Frank was picking me up, and I was looking forward to seeing him. Nobody else seemed like a good option. 

Frank was waiting in the lobby. I caught his attention and walked quickly over. "He's going to be okay!" I exclaimed, practically running to him. 

"Y/n I'm so glad!" He took me in a tighter hug than before and held me for a moment. When he pulled away, his hands stayed on my arms, brushing up and down them. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah," I said exasperated.


	5. What is Love This Time?

Love always finds a way. Sometimes Love's way is a basketball fuckboy who left you on "read" for the fifth time in a week, despite the fact that you had been in a committed relationship for four months, then gets defensive when you confront him and tried to spin the blame back on you and say that you were lazy in the relationship because you didn't want to go all the way with him. But that's okay, because Love is also the best friend that you called at ten P.M. hysterical, who then walked in the dark to your apartment and walked with you to Baskin Robbins because the best way to fix a broken heart is Rocky Road. Love is your favorite professor driving you to the airport at three in the morning when Love decides to almost kill your little brother. Love does all this so you can be happy in the end. Love is not always lovely. 

"Frank?" I knocked on the door to his office, hoping we could talk a little bit before class started as usual. There was no answer. "Maybe he's sleeping again?" I whispered to myself. Shifting my bag, I turned around, stumbling back as I was met face to face with my ex-boyfriend. 

"Hey Y/n." He smirked "Got a minute?"

"What do you want Dylan?" I huffed, keeping myself at a reasonable distance. 

"Just came to see if it was true." He shrugged, trying to make himself look innocent. I know what you've done you bastard.

"If what was true?" I narrowed my eyes, already done with his bullshit.

"That you were fucking Iero." He stepped forward. I was clearly taken aback by this. "What you haven't heard the rumours?"

"Who told you that?" I asked. Seriously, who said that?

"Nobody really needed to tell me Y/n." He rolled his eyes. "You spend all your time in his office. You're here, waiting for him right now!"

"Why the hell have you been watching me?" I took another step back. "If I remember correctly, it was you who broke up with me."

"I'm just wondering why you're sleeping with a teacher." Dylan loomed over me with a condescending expression. "Is that why you wouldn't sleep with me? You were too busy trying to bang all the professors?"

"I didn't sleep with you," I raised my voice. "Because I heard you telling your friends you were leaving as soon as I gave what you wanted."

Dylan's face was getting red and angry. Fuck. "Oh, and your professor won't?"

"Let me make something very clear for you:" I enunciated very carefully, looking him dead in the eyes. "I am not, nor have I ever, slept with a teacher. Not Iero, not anybody. Now please leave before I get the fucking campus security in here."

"Fucking slut." He mumbled, turning around and stalking off down a hallway.

Who did this hoe think he was? Asking me if I was fucking a teacher. Then the real concerns set in. Was he telling other people this? Who actually started the rumour? How many people thought that I was sleeping with my professor? I became quite upset by this; my face was red and flustered, and I started feeling tears trickling down my face. Oh no, you can't cry, you just can't. Not here, not now, keep it together Y/n.

"Oh hey Y/n." Frank came round the corner right as I was drying my eyes. "Sorry I took so long, I was talking to some other teachers and-are you okay?"

"Yeah yeah I'm fine." I lied, giving him a smile. "Just got a bunch of dust in my eyes. I think I'm good now, though."

"Um, okay." He walked past me to the class door and unlocked it, then closed it behind us once we were inside. "I'm having them do a group project today, so I just need you to be available for help if they need it. Cool?"

"Cool." I tossed my bag on my corner desk and sat down in the chair.

I was kept rather busy that day. Helping Frank's students was an interesting task, to say the least. Some of them were very bright, but some of them were off the rails stupid. How does one get to college without learning what osmosis is? If someone could answer that it would be cool.

They all seemed to have it figured out by last fifteen minutes, so I took that time to read some lame article from Buzzfeed. This shouldn't even count as journalism. I rolled my eyes, but continued reading anyway. A fucking eighth grader could write this. 

I tried to use the dumb clickbait article as a distraction from my confrontation with Dylan earlier, but the thoughts kept fighting their way into my head. Was it obvious that I liked Frank? Did I even like Frank? Yes, yes, I definitely did. It's not like I could do anything about it though, I was fairly certain teacher-student relationships were prohibited at the school. Plus, it wasn't like Frank liked me anyway. Right?

"Y/n? Earth to Y/n, come in please?" Frank snapped me out of my thoughts. He stood in front of my desk, waving his hands in my face. 

"What? Hi, hello." I stumbled over my words. "What's going on?"

"Class is over Y/n." Frank laughed. "You didn't notice?" I shook my head and peered around him to see a completely empty classroom. 

"Weird. I don't remember." 

"That's okay." He walked back to his desk. "Since you're still here, would you mind helping me bring some stuff from my office? It's just some boxes I think."

"Oh yeah, I don't mind." I stood up and walked with him to the office. Before I entered, I thought I saw a camera flash from the corner, but when I looked closer, there was nothing there.


	6. Why Don't We

Pictures. I always hated them. I never liked how I looked in them, or how hard it was to get the perfect angle. Just seemed time consuming for me, though I did appreciate the occasional tasteful nature shot from time to time. This said, it might be easy for one to picture my horror when I turned down the hall toward Frank's room and there were photo prints plastered to every inch of every wall. Photos of Frank and I. 

They were everywhere. Mostly duplicates of the same few scenes. Frank and I walking into his office, Me leaning against his desk, speaking to him, strange candid shots of laughter and flirtatious smiling. It would have been sweet, had they not been captured by some stalker. The pictures were taken through window blinds, some were just shadows and silhouettes. 

Frantically, I tried to pull down as many shots as possible, but it was overwhelming. They were stuck one after the other, no spaces, all the way in the corners of the tall walls, some even on the ceiling, and halfway down the hall. The evidence for my nothing-crime was screaming in my face. I hadn't done anything wrong! Had I? Sure, I had a crush on Frank, but its not like I acted on it. Maybe some flirting here and there, but it was harmless. Besides, I'm an adult! I know the repercussions of my actions. 

I took a close look at one of the papers in my hand, dropping the others to the carpet. Frank was at his desk, chair leaned back and feet resting on the desk, lips in a smirk watching me. As for me, I was standing in front of him, hip popped and arms crossed. My face was turned just enough that you could see my tongue stuck out, as if we were having some sort of schoolyard quarrel. These photos were...suggestive, incriminating even. Again, we hadn't done anything. 

At first, I was angry for myself. How dare whoever had done this violate my privacy like that? Then I remembered--Frank. He was going to be just as hurt. These pictures could threaten his job, his livelihood, tarnish his reputation. What would he do? Release me as his T.A? Would the school force him to? Damnit, what am I gonna do? I slumped down against the wall, tilting my head back and breathing heavily. A few broken sobs escaped from my chest before I was full on sobbing into my hands. 

Footsteps came down the hall, getting progressively slower until they were very close to myself. "What the fuck?" Frank, oh shit. "Y/n, what the hell happened?" 

"Frank." I choked out, looking up. "I don't know....they, they-" My face scrunched up again, and before I knew it, another round of tears was pouring down my face. 

"Oh, sweetheart..." Frank knelt down beside me. "Come here." I was now crying into his shoulder while he held me, the both of us sitting on the floor. "Here's what we're gonna do, okay?"

"Okay..." I readjusted myself so I was sitting upright and drying my face. 

"Alright, I'm gonna cancel class really quick, and then we're gonna get the step ladder from my office and take all of these down." Frank pulled out his phone and started typing. "Then...well, I'm not sure what we're gonna do, but we'll figure something out." 

Taking down every single paper took about thirty minutes, then once we were done we sat in his office. "Frank, do you want me to quit my T.A. position?" I asked, staring at the wall. 

"What? No, of course not." Frank was typing on his computer. "It's not like you did anything here, anyway." He typed for a few more minutes, then closed his laptop. "So...do you have an idea who did this?"

I bit my lip for a second, wondering if I should say. At some moment, I guessed that I owed it to Frank to let him know. "Yeah, it was probably my ex." He looked up at me curiously. "Dylan Gladney, he's on the basketball team."

"That much bad blood, huh?" Frank asked, leaning back in his chair.

"Well, I was ready to just move on, but he's still weirdly salty about the whole thing." I bit my lip. "Also I'm pretty sure the whole basketball team and everyone that they know thinks we're sleeping together."

"Well, fuck." Frank said.

"Really?" I snapped. "That's all you can say? 'Well, fuck?' Bravo." I gave him a dirty look and slow clapped. 

"Hey, don't get all pissy with me!" He answered angrily. "I'm the one who pulled you off the floor when you were in tears! I don't see you coming up with any solutions either!"

"I'm not looking for a solution, Frank!" I yelled. "I'm just looking for condolence a little less shallow than 'oh fuck' is all!" I was quiet for a moment; I was ashamed for yelling. After all, it really wasn't a big deal. Rumours are rumours, there was nothing true about it. No basis, right? "I'm sorry." I said finally, this time quieter. "It's just that I don't think there is a solution to it. It just kind of sucks."

"I see." Said Frank. He fiddled with his tie and laughed. "You know, I'm not even upset about the rumours to be honest." Looking up at me, Frank smiled. "I mean, you're a beautiful young woman, if you allow me to say that."

"What?!" I whisper-yelled. "Frank, you can't say that! You could get in trouble!"

"Yeah, but it doesn't make me wrong." He smirked, straightening himself up. "And the fact that you're only upset that I could get into trouble makes me think that maybe you like it." My face flushed red, I could feel it. He was right, wasn't he? I did like it. I loved it. In fact, my brain was screaming for him to say it again. "Aww, the little lady suddenly has nothing to say, huh?" His smugness fueled my flustered head. "Come here, doll." He gestured to his lap. I checked behind me, making sure the shades were drawn and the door was locked. 

Fuck, I shouldn't be doing this, I shouldn't be doing this. Why do I want to do this so badly? Despite what my head was telling me, I found my body moving against me and all the way to where Frank was sitting. I fiddled with my sleeves for a minute until Frank pulled me closer, firmly holding my hips. I yelped loudly as he yanked me down to his lap. "Frank, are you sure abou-"

"Shhh, calm down sweetheart." Frank ran his hand up my thigh all the way until he was holding my face. "Let's give them something to talk about, yeah?" He leaned in quite close to my face. I nodded, and his lips were smashed onto mine.


	7. Lullaby

My shoes were sitting by his front door, and it wouldn't take a detective to look at the trail of clothes and wonder where we ended up, or the motive, for that matter. The hair on my head was a mess that I was not too ecstatic about cleaning up, but there was no denying that I enjoyed the process of messing it up. Every inch of my skin was warm and blushing, showing off lustily in a way I would have normally been ashamed of. 

"Frank?" I whispered into the still air. We had hardly spoken since leaving his office, except for the traditional pornographic phrases that often accompany sexual encounters. I had no idea what I would say when he responded, but I it slipped out before I realized that. 

"Yeah?" He whispered back, voice raspy and unclean. His face was pressed against the bare skin of my upper back, with one arm sitting protectively on my side. 

"Um....nothing."

"Okay then." 

"Oh, but Frank?"

"Yes?"

"What do we do now?"

The proceeding silence stung my senses as I grabbed his hand and held it to my face. 

"Well," Frank began, stroking my skin just slightly with one finger. "Do you want this to be like, a thing? Or is this just a one-time thing?"

"Umm," I screwed my eyes shut and thought for a moment. "I'm not sure. I really like you, but you know, student-teacher relationships...."

"That's true." Frank shifted a little. "If we can just be really sneaky, maybe..."

"I don't know Frank, people already thought we were fucking before, what are they gonna think now? Do you really think we could pull off a whole relationship without someone finding out?"

"We can try."

"How?"

"We can be less flirty at the school; we can just meet privately." Frank pushed me onto my back and kissed me on the lips with a little dash of passion. "Seems kinda sexy, doesn't it?"

"Yeah..." my voice trembled, wavering from the lust of Frank's kissing. "We could do that."

"I like to hear that." He whispered, beginning to suck on my neck. "You're so beautiful." He said, and I shivered.

"Frankie..." I moaned, feeling his soft hair between my fingers. It tickled in that delicious way, where you squirm but can't make a sound, so you just lay there and let the tingles run straight through your skin, enjoying yourself in the most overwhelming condition. So I did just that, laying there, helpless in the best way.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

We resumed school as usual on Monday, me coming in to visit a while before class to help set up and then staying after. We didn't treat each other differently, because we couldn't. We would be ruined. 

"Y/n, come here for a sec." Frank called from inside his office. 

I stepped inside and Frank was sitting at his desk, adjusting his tie and going over assignments. "What is it?" I asked, fiddling with my shirt. 

"Well, I have to report the uh, photo incident to the school." He said, looking up at me. 

"Oh...yes, of course." I nodded quickly, looking down at some cords that stretched across the floor of Frank's office. "Well, won't they ask about our relationship? What am I supposed to say?"

"Well, you say there's nothing between us, of course!" Frank laughed, but I did not return the cantor. He dropped the buoyant demeanor and looked at me sympathetically. "We're just a healthy, normal, mentor-mentee relationship, nothing more." 

"Okay..." I answered, looking up, lip bit, with scrunched brows.

"What's wrong doll?" Frank asked, sitting up. 

"I just, I'm worried. What if they find out?" I turned away from him and held my forehead. "What'll happen to me? What'll happen to you, Frankie?"

His strong hands rested on my shoulders, and I realized that he had risen from his chair to be behind me. "Nothing's going to happen to me, babydoll." 

"But what if it does?"

"It won't." He turned me around to face him, but I couldn't look him in the eye. "I'm gonna be just fine, and so are you."

"Okay."

"Okay." He hugged me tightly, comforting me in that way he did so well. "You wanna come by my place tonight?" He asked softly, rubbing my back. "We can like, have dinner or something."

"Yeah, I'd like that." I said, chin on his shoulder. "Okay, let's do it."

I spent an hour at my dorm trying to make myself look good, asking my roommate how I looked every five minutes. "You're literally gorgeous, Y/n. Whoever this mystery guy is, he's gonna be blown away."

"Oh God, I hope so." I said, securing my earrings in place. 

"Who even is this guy?" Louise scrolled through her phone, likely about to Insta-stalk him the moment I dropped a name. "Is he cute?"

"I'm not telling!" I teased, sticking out my tongue. "And yes, he's cute."

"Not telling?!" She exclaimed, taking a rare look up from her screen. "What, why not?!"

"I don't need you looking up his social medias and harassing him or anything." Among other things.

"I'm not going to harass him!" Louise gasped. "I won't even follow him! Please, just tell me who it is!"

"No can do, Cheese-Louise!" I grabbed my mini-backpack and headed for the door. "I'll catch ya later!"

"Alright, buh-bye." We blew each other little kisses and I flew right out the door. 

My Uber ride was uneventful, except for the fact that we got stuck behind every red light in the god damn city, effectively ramping up my nerves to the point where my driver had to ask me if I was okay. The poor man probably thought I was about to have a breakdown in the back of his Kia Sportage. Finally, after an uncomfortable twenty minutes, I was standing at Frank's front door, hand hovering over the oak, too afraid to knock. I took a deep breath and knocked twice.

"Y/n?" Frank's face peeked from behind the door, forcing one of those giddy, nervous smiles onto my lips. 

"Hi, Frank." I whispered, stepping into his house, actually taking the time to notice the interior this time around. "Wow, your house is pretty." He had a surprisingly nice house, for a single teacher. 

"Oh, thank you, sweetheart." Frank said, closing the door behind me. "I think you look rather pretty tonight yourself." 

"Aww, so sweet." I giggled, following behind him as he led me to the kitchen. It was an average kitchen, with a little dining room attached to it. The table had two plates full of food. "Wait, did you like, cook food?" I asked, slightly amazed. In my twenty-one years of living, nobody had ever cooked for me for a date before.

"Yeah, a little bit." He scratched the back of his neck and pulled out a chair for me. "I'm no Gordon Ramsey, but you know, I dabble."

"Wow, always the gentleman, aren't you Frankie?" I teased, sitting down as he pushed the chair in. 

"Just for pretty ladies." He sighed, giving me a wink.

"Oh I'm special?" I asked, resting my chin on my hand.

"The most special." He gave me a little smile and sat down across from me.

Later, as Frank and I watched a movie on his couch, he 'casually' stretched his arm behind me. I took the signal and scooted over to lean into him, so he would his arm to hold me close. Sitting there was the most at peace I had been in weeks. The safety of being tucked under Frank's arm was something I hadn't experienced with my other partners; even though we cuddled, there wasn't any intimacy involved. They didn't press their mouths to the top of my head and kiss me gently like Frank was doing. 

"Frank?" I whispered, barely audible over the dialogue spinning from the television speakers. Just slightly, I moved my head to see his face, a little aged, but still holding buoyant youth. His small lips were not yet recessed or wrinkled, and his eyes still were filled with excitement, even as they rested. 

"Yeah?" Frank asked, eyes still set on the television screen. I carefully put one hand on his chest, prompting him to look at me. The reflection of some romantic scene was playing in his eye, with the red and blue lights of the screen bouncing and splashing on his skin.

"Do you..." I began, unsure of how I would end my question.

"Do I..." Frank laughed, lacing his hand with the one I laid on his chest. "Do I...what?" He leaned forward a little bit and tilted to flash me that mischievous miniature smile that made my heart beat faster. 

"I...I don't know!" I giggled, leaning my head on his arm and biting my lip, not in a sexual way, but in the way when you're nervous and your stomach does flips because you don't know what's happening next. 

"You don't?" I shook my head and laughed again. "Well, I do really want to kiss you."

"Oh..." I sighed, expelling air until my lungs were burning. "That would be...nice."

"I'll just do it then, how would that sound?" He got even closer to me, stealing the breath right from me, using it to grow his confidence and mischief. 

"O-okay..." I sighed, relaxing toward him as my heart pounded against my insides.

So Frank kissed me, and I very nearly liquified in his embrace. It only lasted a moment, but before I knew it, we had gone for another one, then another one, and another, and another, until he had slipped his tongue into my mouth, and pushed me onto my back. 

Soon, he had his hands up my shirt, and I pulled them out, holding his hands. Frank looked a little confused, so I explained. "I just don't want to go far tonight." I said. "I don't want a super sexually charged evening, if that makes sense to you."

Frank's eyes were blank a second, before he nodded and smiled. "It makes sense, and don't worry, you can always say no to me." He returned to kissing me and using his arms to hold me flush to him. 

"Thank you Frankie," I said. "I-oh my god!" I exclaimed as Frank kissed on the sensitive skin of my neck.

I hoped through the night that Frank wouldn't resent me for not letting him go farther, but in the morning, as I awoke from my position in his arms on the sofa, I realized he wasn't some college frat boy. He wasn't Dylan, or Daniel Cochran. He wasn't a boy, but a man. He could take no and not let his pride be bruised, and at that he was seldom prideful to begin with. So as I watched Frank's sleeping face, there was security, safety, and most importantly, reparations of a lifetime of boy-inflicted damage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg i haven't update in forever! Lol i love this chapter. Happy 4/20 yall!


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